Embrace Your Inner Procrastinator

Do you have a tendency to procrastinate, or do you like checking things off your to-do list?

I’ve waited until after supper to write my daily post and am using a NaBloPoMo question prompt from two days ago because I don’t have a topic prepared.

Yes, I must admit I have a tendency to procrastinate. I also like checking items off a to-do list. In fact, when I make a to-do list, I usually check off a lot of items.

I just don’t get around to making to-do lists very often.

Fellow procrastinators, take heart. In a Wall Street Journal article titled “How to Be a Better Procrastinator,” John Perry, author of The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing, writes that procrastinators, contrary to the lazy stereotype, “are people who not only get a lot done but have a reputation for getting a lot done.”

Rather than try to make ourselves over into whatever the word is for the opposite of procrastinators, he suggests the following:

“[D]on’t listen to most of the advice offered to procrastinators by people who don’t have this particular flaw. For example: ‘Keep your commitments to a minimum, so you won’t be distracted.’ This is a way to become a couch potato, not an effective human being.”

“[D]on’t sit around feeling bad because you lack willpower. That will make you a depressed procrastinator but won’t help you get anything done.”

“[A]void fantasizing about doing things perfectly. Often procrastination is just a way of giving ourselves permission to do a less-than-perfect job on something that doesn’t require a perfect job anyway.” Read More

While I know from experience that I do need to keep my tendency to procrastinate in check, if for no other reason than to lessen my own anxiety, I think he’s on to something. What if I focused on learning to procrastinate better rather than continue to label myself as lazy and unproductive? I already feel more motivated.

I’ve requested The Art of Procrastination from our library and will read it promptly… or at least eventually.